ENVELOPE 
SERIES 

VoL.  XXVI  OCTOBER,  1923 

Liberal  Education 
in  Japan 


Broadening  Tendencies 
since  1868 


Frank  Alanson  Lombard 

Professor  of  English  Literature 

DOSHISHA  UNIVERSITY 


AMERICAN  BOARD  COMMISSIONERS 
r- FOREIGN  MISSIONS  l4BeaconSt.Boitoji 


FOREWORD 

Japan  ever  presents  a most  fascinating  field  of 
study.  We  never  tire  of  tracing  its  evolution. 
The  land  always  interests  us,  but  the  people  con- 
siderably more.  We  marvel  at  them,  the  more 
intimately  we  know  them.  They  have  worked 
wonders,  for  example,  in  education.  Are  they 
not  destained  to  point  the  way  to  other  Eastern 
peoples  in  this  matter  of  adjusting  a nation’s 
educational  policy  and  practice  to  the  spirit  of 
the  times 

Against  an  imperial  system  of  education,  with 
its  special  privileges,  its  appeal  to  patriotism,  its 
dominating  national  purposes,  the  school  of  the 
Christian  has  had  to  prove  its  rightful  place  in 
the  development  of  the  Japanese  people.  The 
struggle  of  private  institutions  generally  for  life 
and  liberty  in  Japan  has  been  and  still  is  tre- 
mendous. Yet  most  encouraging  progress  has 
been  made,  and  private  schools  today  are  con- 
sidered by  government,  as  well  as  by  people,  to 
be  mighty  forces  for  good. 

We  venture  to  predict  that  this  number  of  the 
Envelope  Series  will  gratify  many  who  have 
long  been  interested  in  this  struggle  of  the  private 
school  in  Japan,  and  who  have  desired  to  trace 
the  development  of  liberal  education  under  that 
strongly  centrali^ed  government.  We  doubt  if 
any  American  in  Japan  is  better  qualified  to 
write  upon  the  subject  than  Professor  Lombard. 
Not  only  has  he  had  broad  experience  in  Japanese 
educational  circles  during  the  past  twenty-three 
A ears,  but  also  has  he  given  himself  in  an  extraor- 
dinary manner  to  a study  of  education  in  his 
field.  E.  F.  B. 


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sioners for  Foreign  Missions,  14  Beacon  St.,  Boston,  Mass.  Printed  in  U.  S A. 
Annual  subscription,  ten  (lo)  cents. 


Liberal  Education  in  Japan 

By  Frank  Alanson  Lombard 

Protestantism  is  a protest  against  the  arbitrary  authority 
of  man  in  the  essential  relations  between  man  and  God. 
Protestant  Christianity  is  committed  to  the  endeavor  to 
think  God’s  thoughts  not  merely  after  Him  but  also  with 
Him.  Hence  the  emphasis  placed  by  our  churches  upon 
education  as  a training  of  the  power  of  thought,  the  goal 
of  which  is  action  in  harmony  with  truth.  Wherever 
Protestant  Missions  have  gone,  they  have  fostered  educa- 
tion as  an  essential  method  of  entrance  upon  co-operation 
with  God.  Such  education  is  truly  liberal,  having  no 
ultimate  purpose  other  than  the  freeing  of  man  for  pro- 
gressive fellowship  with  the  divine. 

Liberal  education  stands  distinct  from  every  system 
which  seeks  to  fetter  the  individual  or  subordinate  him 
to  others  in  society  or  state.  Hence  it  is  that  liberal 
education  often  finds  itself  in  conflict  with  established 
systems,  and  is  essential  to  the  free  development  of  the 
individual  in  any  society. 

Peculiar  interest  attaches  to  the  study  of  liberal  educa- 
tion in  Japan,  because  Japan  stands  alone  in  being  a field 
of  Protestant  Alissions  in  which  education,  as  a national 
system,  has  already  produced  a degree  of  literacy  superior 
to  that  in  the  L^nited  States  or  in  England,  and  a body 
of  specialists  honored  for  their  efficiency  throughout  the 
world. 

In  Japan  education  has  long  been  considered  a function 
of  government,  and  its  purpose  the  welfare  of  the  State. 
Over  twelve  hundred  years  ago.  Emperor  Tenchi  (668-671) 
opened  a school  at  the  capital,  and  appointed  a super- 
intendent of  education.  A university,  so-called,  was 


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established  in  68i;  and  as  early  as  701,  educational 
legislation  was  embodied  in  a civil  code  (Taiho  Rei) 
providing  for  preparatory  schools  in  the  provinces,  as 
well  as  for  the  central  university,  all  intended  for  the 
training  of  government  officials  drawn  from  families  of 
fixed  social  rank.  This  practice  of  bureaucratic  education, 
adopted  from  China,  became  firmly  established,  in  spite 
of  the  sporadic  efforts  of  individual  reformers  who  saw  in 
education  a personal  duty  and  an  individual  privilege,  and 
continued  dominant  until  the  downfall  of  the  Shogunate  in 
1868. 

The  Imperial  Oath,  taken  by  the  young  Emperor  at  the 
birth  of  New  Japan  (1868),  was  revolutionary  merely  in 
its  proposal  to  make  the  whole  world  contribute  its 
knowledge  unto  the  welfare  of  the  Empire. 

“Knowledge  shall  be  sought  for  throughout  the  world, 
so  that  the  welfare  of  the  Empire  may  be  promoted.” 

The  Struggle  Between  Two  Theories  of  Education 

From  the  time  when  Japan  thus  committed  herself  to  a 
policy  of  education  supported  by  the  central  government, 
until  the  present,  great  and  surprising  progress  has  been 
made  so  that  the  task  of  mastering  the  world’s  store  of 
knowledge  may  be  said  to  have  been  completed.  During 
this  period,  as  during  the  early  centuries,  however,  there 
has  been  a constant  struggle  between’  two  theories  of 
education:  the  authorized  and  the  liberal.  In  this  struggle 
the  liberal  theory  is  clearly  gaining  ground;  and  it  is  the 
purpose  of  this  study  to  show  something  of  the  struggle 
and  something  of  the  victory  which  is  now  assured. 

A peculiar  difficulty  confronts  us,  however,  in  the  fact 
that  history  in  Japan  seldom  records  the  struggle  of  the 
minority,  save  as  the  victory  becomes  an  integral  part  of 
the  country’s  progressive  evolution.  Individual  or  party 
consciousness  is  weak,  and  deemed  unworthy  in  compar- 


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ision  with  that  social  and  national  consciousness  which 
joys  and  sorrows,  as  one,  over  accomplished  effects  and 
ideals  yet  unattained.  Data,  of  course,  exists;  but  it  is 
never  compiled;  and  the  participants  in  the  struggle  soon 
actually  forget  that  there  have  been  days  of  strife  for 
what  is  now  enjoyed. 

Although  in  Old  Japan  there  was  nothing  that  in  the 
least  resembled  popular  education,  the  Shogunate,  which 
preceded  the  Restoration  in  1868,  had  its  authorized 
schools  in  which  government  officials  were  trained  in 
accord  with  principles  approved  by  the  military  authori- 
ties. There  were  other  schools,  in  particular  that  at 
Mito  where  for  years  historical  research  had  been  con- 
ducted and  from  which  had  gone  forth  widely  the  belief 
that  loyalty  to  the  historic  past  and  the  true  genius  of  the 
nation  required  the  exaltation  of  the  Imperial  Family 
and  the  subordination  of  usurping  militarism,  and  the 
school  at  Matsushita  where  Yoshida-Shoin  by  the  force 
of  his  own  electric  personality  wrought  mightily  upon 
such  men  for  the  new  Era  as  Ito  and  Yamagata. 

In  addition  to  these  which,  while  antagonistic  to  the 
Shogunate,  were  essentially  conservative,  there  were  still 
others  of  more  liberal  nature,  influenced  by  contact  with 
Dutch  learning.  Such  was  the  school  of  Ogata-Koan. 

Ogata-Koan  School 

The  early  life  of  Ogata-Koan  is  of  interest  as  typical  of 
that  unrest  and  eagerness  which  characterized  the  students 
of  the  transition  period.  He  was  born  in  1809  of  a poor 
family,  though  of  samurai  rank.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
gained  permission  to  leave  home  for  study  as  it  was 
evident  that  his  frail  physique  unfitted  him  for  hard  toil. 
He  went  to  Osaka  and  united  himself  to  the  most  famous 
physician  of  the  place,  with  whom  he  studied  for  about 
four  years.  Then,  hearing  of  the  fame  of  Tsuboi,  a great 


S 


teacher  in  Yedo,  he  travelled  the  long  distance  on  foot 
that  he  might  learn  of  him.  Too  poor  to  pay  the  trifling 
fee,  he  taught  through  the  country-side  for  gifts  until  he 
had  gathered  enough  in  contribution  to  secure  his 
entrance.  Struggling  with  poverty,  he  wore  the  cast-off 
clothes  of  others  and  taught  pupils  of  less  ability,  in  spite 
of  all  making  himself  the  recognized  scholar  of  the  school. 
Upon  the  advice  of  his  teacher,  he  opened  medical  practice 
in  Osaka  and  established  a school  for  the  study  of  medicine 
and  the  Dutch  language,  in  1838. 

Ogata-Koan’s  school  was  a home.  Many  of  his  students 
were  poor  young  men  seeking  the  light  in  spite  of  family 
persecution;  and  to  them  he  was  a father.  In  the  house,  • 
apart  from  the  family  rooms,  were  two  dormitory  rooms 
for  the  students,  a dining  room  often  so  crowded  that  the 
men  stood  to  eat,  and  rooms  for  the  books  which  were  the 
chief  treasure  of  the  school.  This  school  was  maintained 
for  twenty-four  years;  and  in  all  over  three  thousand 
students  are  said  to  have  been  associated  with  him. 
Among  these  was  Fukuzawa-Yukichi,  the  founder  of  the 
now  well-known  Keio  Gijuku  University  in  Tokyo. 

Yokoi-Shonan 

Yokoi-Shonan  was  another  great  teacher,  and  a martyr 
to  liberalism.  A brilliant  student  in  the  provincial  school 
at  Kumamoto,  he  had  been  sent  to  the  central  university 
in  Yedo,  but  was  recalled  because  of  his  strong  in- 
dividualism. He  opened  a private  school  and  gave  great 
offense  by  his  support  of  western  learning.  Scorning  the 
barren  studies  of  the  old-style  schools,  he  emphasized 
practical  application  and  gained  for  his  pupils  the  nick- 
name of  Jitsugakuto  — the  party  of  practical  study. 
When  Western  Powers  came  into  contact  with  Japan,  he 
favored  diplomacy  and  not  war.  He  did  much  to  shape 
the  policy  which  opened  the  ports;  and  when  intercourse 


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with  America  was  established,  he  was  killed  by  assassins 
one  afternoon  as  he  returned  from  his  office.  Yokoi’s 
ideas  upon  education,  given  in  counsel  to  the  ruler  of  a 
province,  reveal  something  of  what  must  have  been  his 
own  influence  upon  his  students.  He  declares  that  the 
fundamental  principle  of  education  is  the  cultivation  of 
the  heart  in  harmony  with  the  universe,  that  a teacher 
should  be  one  who  by  his  example  can  effectively  influence 
his  pupils,  that  education  while  fostered  by  schools  begins 
at  home,  that  practical  life  and  true  learning  are  never 
at  variance,  but  that  culture  must  be  genuine  to  avoid 
shallow  attempts  at  application,  and  that  the  establishment 
of  schools  without  the  personal  oversight  and  genuine 
interest  of  the  ruler  is  of  no  avail. 

Sending  Students  Abroad 

By  the  middle  of  the  century  private  schools  had  be- 
come common.  Their  liberalizing  influence  was  far-reach- 
ing. Even  the  government  felt  the  necessity  of  a change 
in  policy;  and,  in  the  hope  of  controlling  the  new  life, 
established  an  institute  for  the  study  of  languages  in 


i86o,  and  began  the  custom  of  sending  students  abroad. 
This  school,  though  closed  by  the  downfall  of  the  Shogun- 
ate,  was  the  germ  out  of  which  a few  years  later  de- 
veloped the  present  Imperial  University  in  Tokyo. 

Fukuzawa  Yukichi,  whom  we  have  mentioned  as  a 
student  under  Ogata,  was  teaching  Dutch  in  Yedo  in  1858. 
and  the  next  year  began  the  study  of  English,  which  he 
introduced  into  his  school  in  1861.  This  school,  which 
attained  an  enrollment  of  several  hundred,  was  greatly 
reduced  in  numbers  during  the  troubled  years  of  the 
Restoration,  but  continued  its  teaching  even  while  the 
actual  conflict  w'as  being  carried  on.  It  was  the  one  and 
only  school  to  live  through  from  the  old  era  into  the 
new;  and  its  teacher,  boldly  championing  the  principles 
of  western  learning  for  practical  purposes,  became  the 
great  apostle  of  self-reliance  and  independence  during  the 
formative  years  of  reconstruction. 

Influence  of  the  Restoration 

The  Restoration  was  accomplished  with  little  actual 
confusion.  The  Shogun  Keiki  resigned;  and  the  Emperor, 
who  had  acceded  to  the  throne  in  1867,  assumed  control 
of  the  government,  and  began  the  era  known  as  Meiji, 
The  Enlightened  Government.  It  was  at  this  time  (April 
6,  1868)  that  the  Imperial  Oath  of  five  articles  was  taken 
in  a “desire  to  carry  out  a reform,  without  parallel  in  the 
annals  of  Japan.”  In  pursuance  of  the  fifth  article  of  that 
Oath,  at  once,  even  while  fighting  continued  here  and 
there  throughout  the  country  between  the  Imperial  forces 
and  the  supporters  of  the  Shogunate,  the  schools 
established  by  the  former  government  in  Tokyo  were 
reopened;  and  in  all  chief  cities  of  the  Empire  the  central 
authority  opened  or  reopened  schools,  long  before  there 
was  ant'thing  like  an  organized  system. 


Entrance  of  Christian  Teachers 

Foreign  teachers  were  engaged  for  certain  of  these 
schools;  and  through  them,  thus  indirectly,  Christianity, 
the  forbidden  faith,  gained  entrance  to  many  eager  minds. 
In  October,  1869,  Or.  S.  R.  Brown  was  sent  by  the  govern- 
ment as  a teacher  to  the  distant  city  of  Niigatta.  Accord- 
ing to  official  instructions,  American  Text  Books  were 
used;  and  their  natural  references  to  God  and  Christianity 
incited  the  boys  to  ask  for  explanations.  Dr.  Brown 
told  them  that  he  could  not  explain  such  subjects  in  school 
hours,  but  opened  a Bible  class  in  his  home  on  Sundays. 
C'apt.  L.  L.  James,  who  in  1871  went  to  Kumamoto,  had 
a most  dramatic  experience.  In  a school  for  foreign  learn- 
ing established  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  opposing  the 
West  and  In  particular  Christianity,  he  so  lived  and 
taught  that  in  1876  nearly  forty  of  his  finest  students 
pledged  their  lives  to  Christ  in  face  of  persecution,  im- 
prisonment, and  degradation.  These  men,  leaving  all  In 
the  freedom  wherewith  Christ  had  set  them  free,  are  many 
of  them  still  with  us  — heroes  of  the  faith  who  through 
the  years  have  led  the  struggle  for  a free  Japan  — KosakI, 
Eblna,  Miyagawa  and  Kanamori,  names  still  to  conjure 
with. 

Meanwhile  the  government  was  at  work  upon  a system 
of  education.  In  1871,  a department  of  education  was 
established;  and  in  1872,  an  educational  code  was  pro- 
mulgated. The  Preamble  to  this  Code  was  remarkable  as 
a declaration  of  liberalism  in  its  emphasis  upon  the  prin- 
ciple of  educational  equality,  in  accord  with  which  educa- 
tion was  to  be  universal  and  no  longer  the  special  privilege 
of  any  one  class  of  the  people. 

Private  Schools  and  the  Government 

At  the  time  of  the  promulgation  of  this  educational 
code,  all  private  schools  were  ordered  closed,  on  the 


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Doshisha,  Kyoto 

Old  Campus  with  Recitation  Hall,  Science  Hall,  Chapel 


ground  that  all  schools  should  be  brought  into  accord 
with  the  new  system  and  none  minister  to  an  aristocracy 
of  learning.  This,  though  excellent  in  theory,  reduced 
all  education  to  an  act  of  authority.  Freedom  of  religious 
faith,  denied  during  the  Shogunate  for  political  reasons, 
was  granted  after  the  Restoration;  but  in  the  government 
schools  organized  at  this  time  all  religious  instruction  was 
strictly  forbidden.  Japan  had  good  reason  to  fear  the 
influence  of  organized  religion  in  affairs  of  State;  and  her 
study  of  educational  systems,  both  in  Europe  and  America, 
strengthened  her  natural  determination  to  exclude  religion 
from  her  schools.  To  this  there  could  have  been  no 
objection,  had  not  the  expressed  liberalism  of  the  new 
policy  been  denied  by  the  narrow  enforcement  which  for 
years  hampered  all  education  not  strictly  under  the  control 
of  the  government  or  in  perfect  accord  with  its  authorita- 
tive system. 

Private  Schools  Restored 

It  soon  became  clear  that  it  would  be  utterly  impossible, 


10 


because  of  lack  of  money  and  of  trained  men,  for  the 
government  to  carry  out  in  detail  its  excellent  system;  and 
the  help  of  private  schools  was  again  eagerly  welcomed, 
wherever  they  confined  themselves  to  teaching  the  ele- 
ments of  Western  language  and  science  and  excluded  all 
religious  influences.  The  missionaries  of  the  period, 
though  still  forbidden  to  preach  the  hated  doctrine,  had  no 
difficulty  in  the  maintenance  in  the  open  ports  of  schools 
for  the  teaching  of  language.  These,  in  fact,  were  easily 
self-supporting. 

The  difficulties  which  confronted  private  education  of  a 
Christian  character  in  those  days  of  readjustment  can 
perhaps  be  illustrated  no  more  clearly  than  by  a review 
of  the  struggle  through  which  the  Doshisha  was  established 
in  Kyoto,  the  ancient  seat  of  Buddhism,  the  home  of 
Emperors  for  over  one  thousand  years. 

History  of  Doshisha  an  Illustration 

Joseph  Neesima,  who  ten  years  before  had  left  Japan, 
risking  his  life  for  knowledge  of  the  Truth,  returned  in 
1874  with  a burning  zeal  to  found  a school  which  should 
do  for  other  young  men  of  Japan  what  the  Christian 
schools  of  New  England  had  done  for  him.  He  came 
with  the  backing  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions;  but  upon  him  alone  depended  the 
successful  launching  of  such  an  enterprise.  The  edict 
boards,  forbidding  Christianity  had  been  removed,  and 
there  was  nominal  religious  freedom;  but  no  foreigner 
was  allowed  at  that  time  to  reside  outside  of  the  treaty- 
ports  save  as  a teacher  in  the  employ  of  a Japanese  school. 

It  was  necessary  that  the  school,  which  should  do  the 
work  he  had  in  mind,  should  be  a Japanese  school,  that 
it  should  be  a Christian  school,  and  that  it  should  have 
Christian  teachers.  Neesima  was  no  common  man.  New 
England  had  given  him  her  best;  but  of  him  President 


II 


Seelye  of  Amherst  College  declared,  “You  cannot  gild  gold.” 
His  service  in  1872  to  the  second  Japanese  Embassy, 
then  investigating  the  educational  institutions  of  foreign 
lands,  had  secured  him  the  lasting  friendship  of  men  high 
in  government  position.  From  them  he  had  received  over 
the  Imperial  Seal,  formal  pardon  for  having  left  Japan 
and  permission  to  teach  Christianity  when  he  should 
return.  Such  a man  was  not  to  be  ignored;  and  the 
governor  of  Kyoto,  influenced  by  a counselor  who  had  be- 
come greatly  interested  in  Christianity,  gave  his  approval 
to  the  plan  for  the  establishing  of  a school  in  the  city. 
But  that  approval  was  not  sufficient.  The  consent  of  the 
central  government  had  to  be  secured.  To  secure  that 
consent  Mr.  Neesima  visited  the  head  of  the  department 
of  education  who,  in  spite  of  personal  friendship,  told  him 
“that  it  would  be  impossible  to  grant  permission  for  a 
Christian  school  to  be  opened  in  the  city  of  Kyoto;  it 
was  regarded  as  the  sacred  city  of  the  Empire;  and  he 
feared  great  opposition  and  prejudice  on  the  part  of  the 
people.”  For  three  days,  Neesima  gave  him  no  rest 
until  at  last  permission  was  hesitatingly  given,  on  condi- 


Lookinc  E.^st  Through  Side  Gate,  Doshisha 


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tion  that  great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  arouse  popular 
antagonism. 

Even  then  there  v/as  great  delay  before  permission  could 
be  secured  for  the  residence  of  the  first  foreign  teacher; 
and  for  vears  such  permission  had  to  be  re^secured  from 
time  to  time,  often  amid  great  anxiety  lest  it  be  refused. 
The  school  was  opened  in  1875 ; but  for  a time  no  religious 
teaching  was  carried  on  in  its  class-rooms  lest  ground  of 
attack  should  be  given  to  the  hostile  forces  of  conservatism 
within  the  city. 

In  1877,  the  Counselor  of  the  city  government,  through 
whose  influence  many  favors  had  been  secured,  lost  his 
position;  and  as  late  as  1879  there  was  difficulty  in  regard 
to  residential  permits  for  foreign  teachers.  Yet  in  1884, 
a public  meeting  was  held  in  the  city  of  Kyoto,  attended 
by  over  fifty  officials  and  leading  men  of  business,  to 
present  the  appeal  for  popular  support  on  behalf  of  a 
Christian  University.  The  history  of  the  Doshlsha  from 
that  day  until  the  present,  when  it  stands  upon  a govern- 
ment charter  as  a Christian  University  privileged  to  give 
degrees  equal  to  any  in  the  land,  might  be  taken  in 
illustration  of  our  entire  theme  — the  growth  of  Liberal 
Education  in  Japan. 


Value  of  the  Imperial  Rescript  Upon  Education 

Japan,  in  her  endeavor  to  separate  church  and  state,  to 
exclude  religion  from  ethics  in  her  government  system  of 
education,  failed  to  realize  the  distinction  between  essence 
and  form,  and  forgot  that  in  reality  religion,  though 
unnamed,  had  been  the  source  and  authority  of  all  that 
was  vital  in  the  ethics  of  her  older  education.  Through 
the  falling  away  of  old  restraints,  through  the  weakening 
of  old  Ideals  and  especially  through  the  rise  of  new  rela- 
tions in  politics,  business,  and  society,  moral  distintegra- 
tion  seemed  to  threaten  the  country.  Serious  and  well- 


13 


intended  efforts  were  made  to  revitalize  ethical  teaching; 
but  the  result  was  so  far  from  satisfactory  that  the 
government  realized  the  danger.  That  there  might  be 
a standard  for  all,  strong,  it  was  hoped,  to  avert  the  peril, 
an  Imperial  Rescript  upon  Education  was  issued  in  1890, 
as  follows: 

“Know  ye.  Our  subjects: 

Our  Imperial  Ancestors  have  founded  Our  Empire  on  a 
basis  broad  and  everlasting,  and  have  deeply  and  firmly 
implanted  virtue;  Our  subjects  ever  united  in  loyalty  and 
filial  piety  have  from  generation  to  generation  illustrated 
the  beauty  thereof.  This  is  the  glory  of  the  fundamental 
character  of  Our  Empire,  and  herein  also  lies  the  source  of 
Our  education. 

“Ye,  Our  subjects,  be  filial  to  your  parents,  affectionate 
to  your  brothers  and  sisters;  as  husbands  and  wives  be 
harmonious,  as  friends  true;  bear  yourselves  in  modesty 
and  moderation;  extend  your  benevolence  to  all;  pursue 
learning  and  cultivate  arts,  and  thereby  develop  intellectual 
faculties  and  perfect  moral  powers;  furthermore,  advance 
public  good  and  promote  common  interests;  always  re- 
spect the  Constitution  and  observe  the  laws;  should 
emergency  arise,  offer  yourselves  courageously  to  the 
State;  and  thus  guard  and  maintain  the  prosperity  of 
Our  Imperial  Throne  coeval  with  heaven  and  earth.  So 
shall  ye  not  only  be  Our  good  and  faithful  subjects,  but 
render  illustrious  the  best  traditions  of  your  forefathers. 

“The  Way  here  set  forth  is  indeed  the  teaching  be- 
queathed by  Our  Imperial  Ancestors,  to  be  observed  alike 
by  Their  Descendants  and  the  subjects,  infallible  for  all 
ages  and  true  in  all  places.  It  is  Our  wish  to  lay  it  to 
heart  in  all  reverence,  in  common  with  you.  Our  subjects, 
that  we  may  all  attain  to  the  same  virtue. 

“The  30th  day  of  the  loth  month  of  the  23rd  year  of 
Meiji.  (The  30th  of  October,  1890.)” 

This  remarkable  edict,  which  still  stands  as  the  only 


H 


authoritative  basis  of  instruction  In  ethics  throughout  the 
schools  of  Japan,  is  worthy  of  study.  It  contains  nothing 
to  which  any  need  object;  it  contains  much  to  which  all 
can  give  hearty  assent;  but  its  limitations  are  evident. 
Avoiding  direct  reference  to  any  superhuman  sanction,  it 
rests  all  upon  a loyalty,  effective  largely  through  its 
religious  element.  A practical  admission  that  education 
without  religion  is  a failure,  it  begs  the  question  in  the 
interests  of  conservatism.  It  is  rumored  that  His  Majesty 
admitted  the  temporary  efficacy  of  the  rescript;  and  later 
developments  have  shown  the  necessity  of  its  reinforce- 
ment; but  at  the  time  when  the  country  was  in  reaction 
after  a period  of  too  rapid  adoption  of  Western  thought, 
it  did  its  work  and  steadied  social  evolution,  though 
restricting  the  growing  movement  of  liberalism  in  educa- 
tion. 

Effect  of  Special  Privileges  in  Imperial  System  Upon 
Private  Schools 

The  demands  upon  New  Japan  were  many  and  varied. 
Learning  from  the  West  with  all  possible  rapidity,  she 
found  it  necessary  to  develop  her  military  power  in  order 
to  protect  herself  and  to  gain  recognition  for  her  rights. 
In  this,  following  the  example  of  Germany,  she  made 
military  service  compulsory.  All  young  men,  upon  reach- 
ing the  age  of  seventeen,  were  upon  examination  required 
to  take  three  years  of  military  training,  and  thereafter 
hold  themselves  subject  to  draft  for  service,  up  to  the  age 
of  forty.  But,  as  a premium  upon  education  and  that 
military  training  might  not  interfere  with  ordinary  school 
duties,  students  in  government  schools  were  allowed  to 
defer  their  period  of  training  and,  upon  graduation  from 
schools  of  middle  or  higher  grade,  present  themselves 
as  volunteers  entitled  to  the  privilege  of  but  one  year’s 
service  and  that  in  the  less  strenuous  duties  for  which  their 
better  education  had  supposedly  fitted  them. 

IS 


Class  Grades 


The  social  fabric  in  Japan  has  never  been  branded  with 
the  caste  system;  and  yet  social  rank  is  a very  real  thing 
with  privileges  of  no  slight  value.  There  are  in  general 
four  official  grades:  Shinnin,  Shokunin,  Sonin,  and  Hannin. 
Enrollment  in  even  the  lowest  of  these  is  an  honor  and 
adds  much  to  one’s  individual  standing  in  any  Japanese 
community.  To  all  regular  teachers  in  government 
schools,  even  of  elementary  grade,  the  rank  of  Hannin  is 
given;  and  the  head  teachers  in  middle  schools  are  given 
Sonin,  or  equivalent  rank.  Furthermore,  the  graduates 
of  government  schools  of  middle  grade  have  civil-service 
status  in  any  employ  upon  which  they  may  enter  which 
places  them  at  once  at  advantage  over  others  less  fortun- 
ate. 

Close  co-ordination  within  the  government  school 
system  makes  promotion,  upon  examination,  easy  from 
one  grade  to  the  next  highest,  while  the  privilege  of  en- 
trance is  denied  all  not  from  accredited  institutions. 

A Disadvantage  to  Private  Institutions 

These  were  some  of  the  conditions  which,  especially 
during  the  last  decade  of  the  century,  placed  all  private 
educational  Institutions  at  a great  disadvantage,  though  it 
should  be  stated  that  recognition,  with  its  attendant 
privileges  of  deferred  military  service  and  civil-service 
standing,  was  usually  granted  to  schools  which  were  really 
worthy  and  which  would  conform  to  certain  reasonable 
requirements.  That  decade,  however,  was  one  of  anti- 
foreign  reaction  and  of  suspicion  concerning  the  influence 
of  Christianity.  The  tension,  in  matters  of  education, 
reached  its  climax  in  an  Imperial  Ordinance  regulating 
private  schools,  which  was  issued  August  2nd,  1899. 


16 


The  Imperial  Ordinance  and  Religious  Liberty 

This  Ordinance,  in  spite  of  its  insistence  upon  red  tape, 
contained  nothing  to  call  for  serious  objection  on  the  part 
of  those  engaged  in  private  education,  except  Art.  XVII, 
which  read; 

“The  Minister  of  Education  may  issue  rules  necessary 
for  operating  the  present  regulations.” 

The  significance  of  that  article  was  apparent  when  in 
the  Instructions,  appended  to  the  Regulations  by  the 
Minister  of  Education,  one  read: 

“It  being  essential  from  the  point  of  view  of  educational 
administration  that  general  education  should  be  indepen- 
dent of  religion,  religious  instruction  must  not  be  given, 
or  religious  ceremonies  performed,  at  government  schools, 
public  schools,  or  schools  whose  curricula  are  regulated 
by  provisions  of  law,  even  outside  the  regular  course  of 
instruction.” 

Religious  liberty  is,  at  least  nominally,  guaranteed  by 
the  Imperial  Constitution:  “Japanese  subjects  shall,  with- 


Doshisha,  Main  Entrance  (East)  From  Imadegawa 
St.  Library  Building,  Cost,  $100,000.  Gift 
OF  One  Man  a Japanese 

17 


In  limits  riot  prejudicial  to  peace  and  order,  and  not 
antagonistic  to  their  duties  as  subjects,  enjoy  freedom  of 
religious  belief.”  But  the  working  out  of  the  guarantee 
has  naturally  been  attended  with  some  difficulty  especially 
in  connection  with  the  exclusion  of  religion  from  all  schools 
within  the  government  system.  Religious  disqualifications 
had  been  written  into  the  original  draft  of  the  ordinance 
of  1899,  but  not  allowed  to  stand.  Their  place  had  been 
taken  by  the  Instructions  of  the  Minister  of  Education; 
and  there  is  little  doubt  that  they  were  Intended  as  a 
direct  attack  upon  schools  under  Christian  management. 

Effect  of  Ordinance  and  Instructions 

Prior  to  this  time  several  Christian  schools,  the  Doshisha 
among  them,  had  been  granted  government  recognition 
as  Middle  Schools  with  privileges ; but,  as  the  new  instruc- 
tions forbade  all  religious  instruction  and  services,  “even 
outside  the  regular  course  of  instruction,”  most  of  these 
schools  felt  obliged  to  surrender  their  valuable  position  of 
privilege.  The  protest  was  natural  and  nearly  unanimous, 
though  in  a few  cases  the  plan  was  adopted  of  separating 
the  boarding  department  from  the  school  proper,  and 
relegating  religious  instruction  to  the  former. 

A petition  was  presented  to  the  Minister  of  Education 
that  the  Instruction  might  be  restricted  in  its  application 
to  schools  supported  by  public  funds.  This  was  refused; 
but  regulations  were  soon  issued  granting  the  privilege  of 
admission  to  high  government  schools  unto  graduates  of 
the  private  schools  in  question,  though  the  official  designa- 
tion of  Middle  School  was  withheld.  In  the  spring  of 
1902,  however,  regulations  were  issued  requiring  the  grad- 
uates of  such  schools  to  pass  a special  examination,  with 
additional  fee,  as  well  as  to  pass  the  regular  examination 
of  entrance  to  high  government  school.  For  a time  no 
relief  from  this  discrimination  could  be  secured. 


18 


Recognition  of  Private  Special  Schools 

The  government  had,  however,  established  various 
“special”  schools,  of  equal  standing  with  the  regular  high 
government  schools;  and  regulations  governing  admission 
to  these  were  modified  to  include  among  the  eligible 
“graduates  of  schools  recognized  by  the  Minister  of 
Education  as  equal  or  superior  to  Middle  Schools.”  This 
recognition  was  speedily  secured  by  many  private  schools 
of  good  educational  standing;  and  the  attendant  privilege 
of  entrance  to  “Special  Schools”  proved  an  entering  wedge 
to  further  concessions.  As  these  “Special  Schools”  be- 
longed to  the  government  system  and  were  of  equal  rank 
with  the  high  government  schools,  consistency  required 
the  extension  of  the  entrance  privilege;  and,  in  January, 
1904,  such  an  extension  was  officially  granted.  Thus  did 
the  Department  of  Education  yield  to  pressure,  and 
recognize  in  a practical  way  that  discrimination  should 
not  be  exercised  against  private  schools  on  the  ground  of 
their  right  to  freedom  of  religious  instruction.  The 
struggle  was  a clear  victory  for  liberalism,  especially  as 
private  schools  were  allowed  to  establish  their  own 
“special  departments”  enjoying  equal  privilege  with 
government  institutions  as  regards  deferred  military  service. 
Even  schools  of  Theology  were  recognized  as  “Special 
Schools.” 

As  the  student  looks  back  upon  this  struggle  which  at 
the  time  brought  much  anxiety,  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
there  were  indeed  two  sides  to  the  question.  The  govern- 
ment had  to  deal  with  scores  of  private  schools  neither 
Christian  nor  educationally  worthy;  and  certain  Mission 
Schools,  choosing  to  relegate  all  religious  instruction  to 
extra-curricula  activity  in  distinct  boarding  departments, 
and  thus  to  retain  their  government  privileges,  declared 
that  they  suffered  in  no  way  religiously  by  so  doing.  It 
was  easv  in  the  interests  of  missionary  motives,  to  take 


19 


offense  at  what  in  a reversed  position  in  the  West  would 
have  seemed  perfectly  right  and  natural. 

Increasing  Exemption  From  Discrimination  , 

The  growth  of  miscellaneous  private  schools  continued 
and  constituted  a very  real  problem.  The  government, 
accustomed  to  rule  by  regulation  with  exception,  rather 
than  by  a liberal  principle,  continued  to  issue  regulations 
that  appeared  to  discriminate  against  worthy  as  well  as 
unworthy  institutions,  as,  for  example,  in  the  regulation 
that  only  graduates  of  Government  High  Schools  for 
Girls  could  take  examination  of  teachers’  license.  Yet,  it 
should  be  said  that  in  the  same  year,  a Mission  School,  on 
the  basis  of  scholarship,  received  that  privilege,  though 
without  the  name:  “High  School.”  It  became  clear  that, 
in  spite  of  a strictly  authoritative  system,  the  government 
was  increasingly  willing  to  grant  exemption  from  dis- 
crimination to  all  worthy  institutions  regardless  of  their 
merely  religious  attitude.  An  understanding  patience 
with  the  problems  of  the  government  usually  brought  its 
reward. 

The  government’s  attempt  to  exclude  religious  instruc- 
tion from  all  schools  within  its  system  was  again  brought 
into  question  in  1910,  when,  impressed  with  the  need  of 
what  might  take  its  place  under  another  name,  the  educa- 
tional authorities  urged  all  teachers  to  use  their  influence 
for  the  repair  of  Shinto  shrines  and  for  fostering  the  habit 
of  visiting  such  shrines.  That  this  was  not  intended  as  a 
blow  at  Christianity,  but  a recognition  that  forces  to  be 
found  only  in  religion  were  needed  by  the  State,  was  clear- 
ly evident  the  following  year  when  the  Vice-Minister  of 
Home  Affairs  sent  a circular  letter  to  the  press,  declaring 
his  conviction  that  “education  and  religion  should  co- 
operate in  the  training  of  the  young  and  that  ethical 
instruction  without  the  inspiration  of  religion  was  serious- 


20 


ly  defective,”  and  calling  a conference  of  representatives 
of  the  Shinto,  Buddhist,  and  Christian  Faiths  with  a view 
to  securing  a better  mutual  acquaintance  and  an  inter- 
change of  opinion  regarding  the  ethical-religious  questions 
of  the  day. 

Conference  of  Faiths  With  Dept,  of  Education 

Such  a conference  was  held  March  25-26,  1912;  and 
passed  the  following  resolutions: 

“We  acknowledge  that  the  will  of  the  government 
authorities,  which  led  us  to  hold  the  conference  of  the 
representatives  of  the  three  religions,  is  in  conformity  with 
the  principle  of  the  freedom  of  religious  beliefs,  to  respect 
the  authority  of  religion  which  each  possesses,  to  promote 
national  morality,  and  to  improve  public  discipline,  with- 
out departing  from  our  original  creeds;  and  that  statesmen, 
religionists,  and  educators,  without  interfering  with  one 
another,  should  maintain  the  honor  of  the  Imperial  House- 
hold and  contribute  to  the  progress  of  the  times.  As  this 
is  in  accord  with  our  own  purpose  we  comply  with  the 
request  of  the  authorities  and  promdse  to  make  all  possible 
effort  for  perfectly  discharging  the  onerous  duty  of  work- 
ing for  the  advancement  of  the  nation,  always  adhering 
to  our  own  belief.  Simultaneously,  we  hope  that  the 
Government  authorities  will  never  cease  their  endeavor 
to  assist  in  realizing  the  ultimate  object  of  this  conference. 
With  these  principles  and  this  object  in  view,  we  have 
made  the  following  decisions: 

(a)  To  foster  and  develop  our  respective  creeds,  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  State,  and  to  contribute  to  the 
development  of  national  morality. 

(b)  To  hope  that  the  authorities  concerned  will  respect 
religion,  promote  friendly  relations  between  the  statesmen, 
religionists,  and  educationalists,  and  contribute  to  the  pro- 
gress of  the  nation.” 


21 


To  an  extent  not  generally  recognized,  the  resolutions 
were  based  upon  a draft  prepared  by  the  Christian 
representatives.  They  are  characterized  by  a remarkable 
spirit  of  independence  and  liberalism.  The  principle  of 
religious  freedom  is  strongly  expressed;  and  absolute 
equality  in  loyalty  of  endeavor  is  assumed.  While  of 
seeming  insignificance,  the  fact  of  this  conference,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  government,  and  the  utterance  of  such 
resolutions  were  of  exceeding  importance  in  their  indirect 
bearings,  as  they  secured  to  Christianity  a recognized 
status  and  to  Christian  educational  effort  a place  of 
importance  never  before  accorded  it. 


Its  Good  Indirect  Results 

The  conference  produced  no  direct  results.  Such  were 
not  to  be  expected.  But  the  Christian  Movement  in 
Japan,  for  the  following  year,  reported  a new  momentum 
in  Christian  education,  a hopefulness  and  aggressiveness 
of  spirit,  with  a marked  advance  in  the  spiritual  life  of  the 


Girl-s’  School,  Doshisha,  Corner  of  James  Hall  Looking 
West  Toward  Pacific  Hall 


23 


schools.  The  burden  of  discrimination  had  clearly  lifted. 
Christian  Education  Associations,  which  had  previously 
been  merely  local,  took  national  scope;  and  the  National 
Christian  Educational  Association  (men’s)  at  its  annual 
meeting,  as  though  conscious  of  new  power  and  possibili- 
ties, appointed  a Commission  of  Investigation  and  Recom- 
mendation (A)  “to  investigate  thoroughly  the  general 
condition  of  Christian  education  as  compared  with  govern- 
ment and  non-Christian  private  education;  (B)  to  draw 
up  a comprehensive  policy  in  the  larger  sense  for  Christian 
education  in  Japan;  (C)  to  make  recommendations  of  a 
more  minor  character;  (D)  to  study  thoroughly  the  condi- 
tion of  the  religious  education  in  the  Christian  schools  and 
make  recommendations  for  improvement.” 

Recognition  of  Private  Universities 

The  recognition  of  Private  “Special  Schools,”  with 
privileges  similar  to  those  granted  Special  Schools  within 
the  government  system,  was  followed  by  the  recognition 
of  Private  Universities  (Doshisha  was  so  recognized  in 
1912)  empowered  to  grant  degrees  which  should  signify 
the  school  of  their  origin,  and  the  Department  of  Educa- 
tion, in  1914,  suggested  certain  changes  in  the  govern- 
ment system  looking  toward  far  greater  liberalism.  Two 
plans  were  presented,  one  by  an  Investigation  Committee 
of  the  Department,  the  other  by  an  Investigation  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  Parliament.  The  latter  was  far  more 
radical  and  would  have  at  once  placed  private  education 
in  a position  to  compete,  to  the  extent  of  its  actual  ability, 
with  the  highest  government  institutions. 

Before  action  was  taken  upon  these  proposals,  a third, 
known  as  the  Kikuchi  Bill,  was  presented.  In  1915,  the 
Department’s  Educational  Investigation  Committee 
adopted  the  first  article  of  the  Kikuchi  Bill  which  pro- 
vided that  “An  institution  whose  standard  of  admission 


23 


is  graduation  from  a middle  school  or  its  equivalent,  and 
which  offers  a course  of  four  years  or  more,  shall  be 
recognized  as  a Daigaku  (University).”  This  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  Department  that  a government  bill  might  be 
drafted  therefrom.  Such  a bill  was  ready  by  September 
21,  1915,  but  final  action  was  deferred  that  more  funda- 
mental improvements  might  be  secured.  This  was  a 
disappointment  to  the  friends  of  liberal  education;  yet 
caused  no  unrest,  for  the  general  trend  was  clearly  ap- 
parent and  in  the  Interests  of  liberalization. 

Ultimate  Victory  of  Liberalism 

In  1917,  the  National  Ministry  appointed  a new  Special 
Educational  Congress  responsible  directly  to  the  Premier. 
This  Congress  appointed  a Committee  of  Investigation; 
and,  as  a result,  new  Imperial  Ordinances  were  promul- 
gated on  December  5,  1918.  These  Ordinances  concern- 
ing universities  and  higher  schools  remain  in  force  and 
constitute  the  ultimate  victory  of  liberalism  so  far  as 
government  recognition  is  concerned.  Private  educational 
effort  may  now  establish  schools  of  any  grade,  with  all 
the  privileges  enjoyed  by  those  in  the  government  system, 
including  the  right  to  confer  degrees  which  in  the  reading 
need  not  differ  from  those  issued  by  the  Department  of 
Education  itself. 

Way  Now  Open  Upon  Merit 

The  government  requirements,  though  minute  and 
somewhat  exacting,  are  just  and  right:  a scholarly 
standard  must  be  maintained  satisfactory  to  government 
examiners,  and  a proper  endowment,  proportionate  to  the 
scope  of  the  institution,  must  be  held  subject  to  govern- 
ment audit  in  the  form  of  cash,  national  bonds,  or  bonds 
approved  by  the  Minister  of  Education.  It  will  doubtless 


24 


In  Tokyo 


be  some  time  before  private  institutions  carry  the  prestige 
of  the  government  system;  but  the  way  is  now  open  upon 
merit;  and  the  challenge  lies  before  those  who  would  make 
Christian  education  a moulding  influence  in  the  country. 
Never  in  the  past  has  such  interest  in  the  undertaking 
been  shown  by  the  growing  body  of  Japanese  Christians 
who  now  are  doing  valiantly  to  make  their  institutions 
equal  to  the  task.  Kobe  College,  for  girls,  is  an  illustra- 
tion where  the  alumnae  have  themselves  purchased  a 
magnificent  site  for  college  expansion;  and  another  is  the 
Doshisha,  dear  to  all  friends  of  the  American  Board,  in 
its  present  effort  to  raise  in  connection  with  its  approach- 
ing Jubilee  its  endowment  beyond  the  point  required  by 
the  government  for  the  retention  of  its  university  charter. 

Yet  Need  to  Continue  Liberal  Pressure 

There  is  need,  indeed,  that  those  interested  in  liberal 
education,  as  distinct  from  that  held  in  authoritative 
control,  should  at  this  time  exert  all  their  strength.  Soon 
after  the  new  regulations  were  issued,  there  was  announced 


25 


a plan  for  great  expansion  in  Higher  Education  within  the 
government  system.  The  plan  calls  for 

1.  Sixteen  new  Higher  Schools. 

2.  Seventeen  new  Special  Schools  of  College  grade. 

3.  The  raising  of  several  Special  Schools  to  the  rank  of 
universities. 

4.  The  addition  of  new  departments  to  several  of  the 
existing  Imperial  Universities. 

5.  The  sending  of  440  Imperial  University  graduates 
abroad  for  further  study. 

6.  The  provision  of  400  scholarships  in  the  Imperial 
Universities. 

7.  The  appropriation  of  ^44,000,000  to  be  spread  over 
six  years,  to  meet  the  expense  of  the  undertaking. 

Dr.  T.  H.  Haden,  commenting  upon  this  situation  in 
the  Christian  Movement  in  the  Japanese  Empire,  1920, 
writes:  “At  the  end  of  five  or  six  years,  when  this 
scheme  has  been  carried  out,  higher  education  will  be  in 
easy  reach  of  thousands  of  Japanese  young  men,  who 
otherwise  would  have  had  no  opportunity  for  vocational, 
or  college,  or  university  training.  It  will  raise  the  in- 
tellectual status  of  the  nation;  it  will  help  to  prepare  for 
the  extension  of  the  franchise,  which  is  now  being  de- 
manded so  insistently;  it  will  help  to  make  “Democracy 
safe”  for  Japan.  It  is  a sincere  and  large  attempt  to 
meet  the  needs  of  the  nation  in  the  realm  of  higher  educa- 
tion. From  these  standpoints,  it  is  admirable.” 

“But,”  Dr.  Haden  continues,  “it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  it  is  also  the  boldest  attempt  the  Government  has 
ever  made  to  completely  dominate  the  higher  intellectual 
life  of  the  Japanese  Empire,  and,  possibly,  of  the  whole 
Orient.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  the  education  that 
is  provided  in  these  government  institutions  has  no  theistic 
basis  — it  is  godless.  The  situation  that  is  developing  is 
full  of  opportunity,  but  it  is  also  full  of  danger.  It  is  a 
challenge  to  Christians  to  rise  to  the  opportunity  and 


26 


neutralize  the  danger.  It  must  be  done,  or  Japan  will  be 
more  non-Christian  twenty  years  from  now  than  it  Is 
today.” 

I quote  this  comment  not  because  I fear  the  danger, 
but  because,  in  closing  this  study,  I would  emphasize  the 
necessity  that  liberal  education  should  do  more  than 
neutralize  the  danger.  It  should  overcome  It  for  positive 
good.  This  can  and  will  be  done,  for  what  liberal  private 
schools  have  secured  for  themselves,  they  will  yet  be 
instrumental  in  securing  for  all  educational  institutions  in 
Japan.  The  struggle  of  liberal  education  for  true  freedomi 
wherein  to  exercise  youth  for  fellowship  with  a present- 
working  and  forward-moving  God,  is  not  confined  to 
Japan  alone.  It  is  a world  struggle,  full  of  perplexing 
problems  of  adjustment.  In  America  and  in  Europe  no 
less  than  In  the  Orient;  but  the  issue  in  Japan  Is  more 
clearly  drawn  and  more,  seemingly,  depends  upon  the 
outcome.  The  educational  efforts  of  Protestant  Missions 
and  of  the  Protestant  Churches  In  Japan  should  be  un- 
mistakably liberal,  free  from  sectarianism  and  prejudiced 
propaganda,  since  only  so  can  they  effectively  continue  the 
service  which  they  have  already  so  ably  rendered. 

In  no  mission  field  does  the  progress  of  Christ’s  King- 
dom depend  more  upon  the  advance  of  liberal  education; 
and  the  most  effective  co-operation  yet  to  be  rendered 
by  those  who  support  the  Great  Undertaking  of  winning 
the  World  for  Him,  is  the  co-operation  which  shall  make 
strong  the  forces  of  freedom  wherein  Christ  sets  men  free. 

Bibliography 

The  Christian  Movement  in  Japan,  1900-1923. 

Compilations  of  Educational  Law — Japanese  Depart- 
ment of  Education. 

Japanese  Education,  Baron  KIkuchi. 

Neesima  J.  H.,  J.  D.  Davis. 

Pre-Meiji  Education  in  Japan,  F.  A.  Lombard. 


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